<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Happiness Is Here by Anonymous_Cupcake</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28467909">Happiness Is Here</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_Cupcake/pseuds/Anonymous_Cupcake'>Anonymous_Cupcake</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Banana Fish (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted Children, Ash Lynx Lives, Ash loves his husband and four kids, Cats, Domestic Fluff, Fatto Catto makes another appearance, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, everything is just very soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:47:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28467909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_Cupcake/pseuds/Anonymous_Cupcake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>If someone had told Ash he'd live past twenty and have two kids, two cats, and an amazing husband, he'd probably have shot them. But here he is, twenty-nine with two kids, two cats, and an amazing husband.</p><p>Ash can hardly believe it sometimes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ash Lynx &amp; Original Character(s), Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji &amp; Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>140</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Happiness Is Here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title kinda sounds like a sign you'd see before entering a tunnel lol</p><p>Anyways, this was made for A! I was supposed to give you this after we met up for Christmas but then we never got the chance to meet and I don't want to give you this after New Year so here it is! Enjoy some shameless fluff!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It's Saturday, or maybe it's Sunday, but it doesn't really matter because Ash has both days off. He can't tell if he's holding a pillow or Eiji, too reluctant to open his eyes and see for himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ash, it's been two hours! Wake up!" A pillow hitting his head confirms he was holding a pillow. He groans and pulls the covers over his head, mumbling nonsense as he tries to go back to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"C'mon," Eiji whines above him, trying to pull the covers off, "I let you sleep in! Get up!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ash, on the other hand, thinks he deserves more sleep. And cuddles. He definitely deserves more cuddles. With that logic he lets Eiji pull the covers down slightly so he can grab his arm and pull him down. He quickly wraps Eiji in the blanket and hugs him tightly, burying his face in his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Really?" Eiji huffs, but there's no hint of annoyance in his voice as he hugs Ash back. Ash smiles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Just a bit longer."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ash, you know we have to get up—"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dad!" A young voice yells as a small weight lands on them both, unintentionally pulling them away from their hug. "Sakura is being mean to me!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I am not!" an equally young voice further away yells back. Ash groans and finally opens his eyes, and he ends up looking at Eiji, who winces slightly from the impact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Anthony, please, your father just woke up." Eiji groans, slightly disappointed he couldn't hold Ash longer. Anthony immediately jumps up, yelling an apology as he gets off their bed and runs off. Sakura sticks her tongue out at him as he runs past her before following. Eiji sighs as he watches them before getting up and turning to Ash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"C'mon sleepyhead, let's go eat."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ash groans as Eiji leaves but resigns himself to his fate and gets up. He wasn't that annoyed, the sleepiness would disappear shortly. Halfway down the stairs he can hear Sakura and Anthony talking excitedly amongst themselves. They're good kids, adopted roughly around the same age so they see each other as siblings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They almost look like a nuclear family, except Anthony's hair is darker than Ash's and Sakura's eyes are almost aquamarine. Still, there was no denying they were family.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What's for breakfast today?" Ash asks as he grabs a cup of coffee that was left on the counter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Papa made pancakes!" Anthony answers with his mouth full. Sakura wrinkles her nose in disgust and keeps eating. Eiji sighs and sits down next to them. Ash laughs and kisses his forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Are you getting too old for this?" he teases. Eiji huffs and sticks his tongue out. Ash kisses him again as both Anthony and Sakura yell "Ewww!" and look away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If someone had told Ash he'd live past twenty and have two kids, two cats, and an amazing husband, he'd probably have shot them. But here he is, twenty-nine with two kids, two cats, and an amazing husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ash can hardly believe it sometimes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Gross! We're trying to eat!" Anthony complains. Ash rolls his eyes and grabs the plate of food Eiji left for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We're actually helping you prepare for the future. One day, you might become as sappy as us." Eiji tells him, which Anthony claims will never happen. He turns to Ash for help with a rebuttal, but only gets a shrug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I mean, that doesn't seem </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad." Sakura relents, but Anthony is firm in his beliefs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But they don't even do anything! They just stare at each other and kiss and hold hands a lot."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey, what's wrong with holding hands?" Ash asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's just so boring."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, you can hold hands with someone and do exciting things." Eiji suggests.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Like what?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Discuss secret spy plans." Eiji smirks, glancing at Ash, who smiles into his half empty cup. They haven't fully explained their pasts yet, but it was much easier to say Ash was a spy, even if it was extremely vague and left much to the imagination. It did make them think he was the coolest dad on the planet, so it wasn't all bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anthony opens his mouth to refute, only to realize Eiji has a point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We did do that a lot, didn't we?" Ash added. Anthony sighs and slumps in his seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ok, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Maybe it's not so bad."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost on cue, two chubby cats make their presence known by meowing loudly. "Good morning Fatto Catto." Ash greets the first cat, a calico Eiji found on the street. Fatto Catto meows again, like she's saying hello. Sakura coos and pets her as she walks by. Eiji is distracted by their other cat, who's already in his arms like a baby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You ready for some food, Kitto Katto?" Eiji coos at the feline in his arms. Really her name is KitKat, but like with Fatto Catto, Eiji's accent makes him end the words with an </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound. The cats still respond no matter how they pronounce their names, so it doesn't matter in the end.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>KitKat nuzzles against Eiji's hand. She's a year younger than Fatto Catto, yet she acts like a baby. Eiji would tease him and say they should've named her Ash instead. There can only be one Ash, however.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the morning goes by smoothly. Eiji plays music and hums along as he cleans up while Anthony and Sakura make a dash for the tv remote. Ash gives them five minutes before they realize he hid it behind his books on the higher shelf. With mostly everyone distracted, Ash slips into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Eiji while he's washing dishes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I take it you're done being a grump?" Eiji teases. Ash grumbles a "Maybe" as he buries his face in the crook of Eiji's neck. Eiji briefly stops what he's doing to pet his head before resuming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know, while this is nice, it'd be nicer if you helped."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well then, I guess I'm still a grump." Ash smiled. He reluctantly let go and started drying some of the plates. They don't have to stand so close to each other, but they do anyway, purposely bumping into each other and giggling like besotted highschool students.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warm and calming atmosphere in the mornings never fail to make Ash feel dizzy with love. It's doing the little things with Eiji or their kids or even with their cats that reminds him he's living a reality he once thought would only be a fantasy. Sure, they have relapses here and there and they still have some things to learn about taking care of children, but there's no more constant danger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No more rundown apartments. No more running. No more guns or knife fights in alleys in the dead of night. Ash has his whole life ahead of him, where he'll be constantly surrounded by people who love him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're staring at that cup very intensely." Eiji points out, nudging him slightly. "You alright?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ash stares a bit too long at Eiji's face while thinking of his answer, busy counting the sparkles in his eyes. He thinks about that, and the sound of Sakura finding the remote and yelling at Anthony to find the step stool. He thinks about their two cats lounging on the couch and the way the sun is shining brighter than he's ever seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiles and leans down to kiss Eiji's nose, which has the intended effect of making him blush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I've never been happier."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eiji smiles back. "I'm glad."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Anthony was actually supposed to be a lil nod to the kid from Halloween Sadness, which I was supposed to make a follow up fic for Christmas but I did not want to be sad on Christmas lol</p><p>If you want updates or just wanna chat, I got a discord: https://discord.gg/SfWtu25bbH</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>